week's review

Happy First Week of Advent to you all! Walter and I have been busy collecting evergreen branches (and pinecones) and putting them all over the house.

This year, we're establishing some of our own Christmas traditions, as this will be our very first Christmas away from our families and at home with our new little family. One of the things we are doing is avoiding the usual hustle-and-bustle of the Christmas season in preparation and anticipation of the actual Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25th - January 6th). This means we're not baking cookies, we're not listening to Christmas music, and we haven't bought a Christmas tree (yet). It's hard to postpone the celebration when everywhere we go, Christmas seems to have arrived! But I must say, I am appreciating this quiet waiting period, and eagerly awaiting the coming of our Lord.

Here's my weekly recap of what Walt and I have been up to:

Lounging on the Sheepskin. Walter loves our large sheepskin rug, a gift from his grandparents. He spends most of his time running over to it and flopping down on it*.

*Note: In this picture, he was diaper-less. However, I was keeping a VERY close eye on him and quickly snapped another diaper on him so as to protect our lovely rug. No worries. ;)

Requesting a kiss. 

Geese on the grass by Laguna Lake.

We went to Children's Music Hour at Boo-Boo Records downtown. A neat old record shop offers a weekly hour for children to come and play on musical instruments and follow along in song and dance led by the lovely Miss Heidi. It was lots of fun. The room was packed with children, and Walter was a little shy at first. However, he soon got into the swing of things, and climbed right onto the stage at the front of the room. The picture below shows him sitting on the stage behind Miss Heidi (in white) and watching the kids. He stood up on the stage and danced around, before grabbing for Miss Heidi's CD's...

Running around outside.

Eating, eating, eating. He's a growing boy!

I've been knitting a lot more these days. I received my first shipment of wool yarn this last week. Matthew found a very good deal online and purchased this for me. I used the white and the brown together to knit the sleeves and bottom ribbing of Walter's sweater.

Yes, I finished his sweater! I am so proud of it. I feel like a real knitter now. I used the Scrap Cardigan pattern on Ravelry. It was pretty easy, and knit all in one piece, so I didn't have to sew it together. I have some little wooden buttons I'm planning to sew on the front.

Matthew had a business trip to LA this week, so Walt and I spent three days home alone without a car. We took a lot of walks, went to our neighbor friend's house for dinner, and somehow survived. We were very happy when he finally returned. I know I shouldn't complain, as some of my friends go without their husbands for far longer periods of time. I certainly realized how much I appreciate Matthew's help at the beginning and end of each day!

Goodnight.